Skeletons
by AnimaticGirl
Summary: Focusing on Sirius and Severus, this story follows two sworn enemies, who are more alike than either could imagine, as they make their way to and through Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
1. Prologue: Two Boys

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter, and all related logos blah blah blah are the property of JK Rowling, who is a very talented writer. I only own my mind, but since the men in white coats came I'm not even too sure of that.**

**A/N Well, I know it's been doing before, but I couldn't resist taking a crack at it myself. Go back in time to the Marauders…like my last fic…damn I need some variety. But still, we all know Severus Snape hated James Potter and Sirius Black, and the feeling was mutual. So, like many others, I've decided to voice my opinions of the story behing the hate. Reading over this, I soundd incredibly supercilious, but I'm not really. Please read and review. Thank you. **

Ani

**Prologue: Two Boys**

**Platform 9 ¾, 1971**

The boy seemed slightly smaller than the others, despite the fact that he was a little over the average height. He was slender to the point of being underfed, and he hunched his shoulders slightly, making his form smaller and less conspicuous in the crowd.

A little way away, another boy stood. He seemed slightly larger than the others of his same age, he was slim but slightly muscular. He, too, hunched his shoulders, but on him this action made him seem more obtrusive, rather than, as he hoped, less. He wore a brooding expression, and was accompanied by a younger boy, with the same defined features and dark hair. Behind them stood a tall, elegant woman with sweeping black hair, pale skin and a haughty expression, all of which made her look rather like a vampire.

The first boy was alone. His father would never approach the station, and his mother did not care for the school he was to attend at all- it has been as much as she was willing to do to allow him to go to the school, and to buy him his books and equipment.

The second boy's name had been down for the school since the moment he had been born, as was the boy beside him- his brother, who would be starting his first year at the school in two years time.

Both were expected to be sorted into Slytherin.

Only one was.

**A/N Yeah, I know, useless introduction, reeeeally short, wrote it after I woke up on the drive up to Scotland last Monday. Ah well. Also, I don't have a beta reader so I have absolutely no idea if my grammar is good, bad or indifferent…I kept asking my parents on points and they kept telling me to shut up…so sorry, but I blame them. Hope you enjoyed it…would you believe it gets better?**


	2. Chapter 1: Sirius and Severus

**Disclaimer: See Prologue for full disclaimer. In short: Not mine. JK's.**

**Chapter 1: Severus and Sirius**

Steam billowed from the scarlet steam engine and the assembled teenagers bid final farewells to their parents and boarded the train. The whistle was blown, and the last few stragglers dragged their trunks towards the train and clambered aboard. A black haired first year stepped back so a larger, harder-looking boy of the same age could go ahead.

"After you," said the black haired boy, avoiding the other's gaze.

"Thanks," the larger boy said curtly, refraining from showing emotion as he cast a last, fleeting glance behind him at a tall woman and smaller boy, who were watching him coldly as he moved away. He stepped onto the train, pulling his trunk behind him. The black haired boy followed.

The larger boy moved along the corridor, eventually finding an empty compartment and shoving his trunk roughly inside. After checking down the train for a vacant space, and finding none, the black haired boy reluctantly joined him.

"Hello?" he asked carefully, pulling open the compartment door. The other boy, who had been slumped in a corner with his arms folded and his gaze fixed on a spot on the floor, looked up.

"Yeah?"

"May I sit in here? It's just, everywhere else is full."

"Suit yourself."

The black haired boy sat opposite his new companion, and immediately turned to stare out of the window to avoid meeting the sullen boy's face.

"My name's Sirius, by the way. Sirius Black."

The boy turned away from the window, to look at Sirius. "Severus Snape."

"Snape? Can't say I've heard that name before, and believe me- I've heard most wizarding names from my dear family. Are you a half-blood? Or a Muggleborn?"

"I'm a pureblood," said Severus defensively, feeling the sudden need to appear so to this boy. "My father's…a recluse, so you wouldn't know the name."

"Yeah, whatever," Sirius snorted.

Severus bit his lip. Had his lie been that obvious?

Silence fell for a while. Then, Sirius spoke again.

"Any idea what house you're going to be in?"

Severus blinked. He hadn't thought about it that much, he had been to busy avoiding his father's wrath and his mother's snide comments about the school, despite the fact that she had attended Hogwarts, too. "I'm not sure. Slytherin, perhaps? Or maybe Ravenclaw?"

Sirius' face hardened at the mention of Slytherin house. "I'm supposed to be in Slytherin," he said in a low voice, almost a growl. "But I'll be damned to hell before I actually _am_."

There was another silence, but this time it was broken by Severus.

"I've heard of the Blacks."

"Have you now?" Sirius tried to sound uninterested, but in reality he was keen to know what Severus' family said about his. "What exactly have you heard?"

"That you're an old pureblood family, who have been sorted into Slytherin for seven generations, excluding a few Ravenclaws and one Gryffindor a few years ago. I've also heard that many members of your family have become prominent dark wizards." Severus glanced at Sirius, unsure of how he would react. Most Blacks would have boasted their bloodline and dark lineage, but apparently not Sirius. The boy's face had clouded over, and a very ugly look came into his eyes.

"Well, well, you _have _been doing your homework on my family, haven't you?" Sirius said, sneering unpleasantly, before tipping his head back to stare at the ceiling. "And, unfortunately, you're correct. Except that after tonight, it'll be _two _Gryffindors from our family." He lowered his head, and looked at Severus. "Me."

Severus stared at him, shocked. "You're going to deliberately go against your family?"

"Yup."

Severus looked slightly confused. "But- why?"

Sirius' eyes flashed and he leant forward slightly. "Because I will _never_ follow my family's path and become a dark wizard. I will _never_ immerse myself so far in the dark arts as they did."

Severus now looked entirely lost. "How on earth can you detest the dark arts?" he asked, quietly incredulous.

"I've seen enough innocent people die to know that following a path of murder and destruction is wrong," Sirius growled, and then, quite suddenly, turned away to face the window. The look in his eyes as he stared out over the countryside flashing past was clear: this conversation was over.

Severus, too, returned to staring out of the window, mulling over Sirius' situation in his head. He would have given _anything_ to be in Sirius' place, to be part of a pureblood family that embraced the dark arts like the Blacks, and here was Sirius, openly scorning everything he, Severus, so desperately craved.

He shook his head. Life never dealt people the hand they wanted, and the player opposite always seemed to have the cards you needed.

**A/N Yay, short chapterness…sorry to any of you readers, I really am hopeless at writing at length. Hope you're enjoying it, please read and review…a bit hopeless saying read at the bottom of the chapter…OK, anyway, I'll update soon, really hope it's OK! But please remember what I said about awful grammar and possibly spelling! I pray you also remember that someone is borrowing all my Harry Potter books, so I can't refer to the for detail. Oh, and Severus Snape is my favourite character, so he may be glorified a bit. But I'll do my best to keep him average! If they seem a little OOC here, don't worry, it gets better…promise…**


	3. Chapter 2: The Gryffindor King

**Disclaimer: Not mine. Any of it. Property of JK Rowling. Please enjoy.**

**Chapter 2: The Gryffindor King**

**The Hogwarts Express**

The two boys sat in silence, Severus shifting uncomfortably and Sirius glaring out of the window.. Severus began twisting his hands in his lap, praying for something to break the hostile silence.

Then, the compartment door was pulled open, and a boy with messy black hair and glasses stumbled into the compartment. He gave Sirius and Severus what they both took to be a cross between a smirk and a grimace, and ran one hand through his unruly hair.

"Hullo," he said, settling himself down on the same couch as Severus, although at a noticeable distance. Sirius had looked away from the window and had clearly seen the look of contempt the newcomer had worn the moment before as he had surveyed Severus' huddled form.

"Hello," Sirius replied, not endeavouring to keep the ice from his tone.

"Hello," echoed Severus uneasily. He, too, had seen the look the new boy had given him.

Sirius Black did not like Severus Snape. He found the boy far too interested in purebloods like his family, and the dark arts. But he felt justified in his feeling: he had at least _spoken_ to Snape before making his judgement. This other boy, though, with his haughty expression, had clearly judged Severus on his appearance. Sirius had to admit, Snape had pretty shabby clothing. But then, he reasoned, family life wasn't always peaches and cream.

"I'm James Potter," said the newcomer, grinning around at them as if it merited some kind of award.

"Sirius Black."

"Severus Snape."

James had narrowed his eyes at the mention of Sirius' name, and now stared across at him. "Black?" he asked, suspiciously.

Sirius felt his temper rise. This was only the second person he had encountered, and both had inquired of his family. "Yes, Black," he snapped. "That is what I said, wasn't it?"

James continued to stare at him coldly. Sirius resisted the overwhelming urge to draw his wand and either use one of the famous Black family curses on this boy, or else poke him in the eye.

"So you'll be in Slytherin then, will you?" asked James, a smirk tilting the corner of his mouth.

That did it

Sirius was on his feet, his fist flying through the air. It connected with the side of James' face.

"If I am," he growled. "I just _know_ I'll be seeing you there."

James stood, too, one hand against his face, and gazed calmly at Sirius, but it was clear to see the fury bubbling behind his eyes. Severus stayed in his seat, trying to withdraw further into himself, away from the two boys now facing one another in the compartment. It seemed that fights were everywhere- at home, and even here.

James spoke, in a measured tone, the words full of barely concealed anger. "Don't you _dare_ ever call me a Slytherin, Black," he said quietly. "When it's people like you that should have been drowned at birth." There was hatred there, too, Severus noticed. He closed his eyes, and wished himself away, back to the place he had constructed in his head to withdraw to whenever the shouting had started at home.

"And why, pray tell, should I have been drowned at birth?" Sirius' tone was calm and polite, but his eyes flashed. Tell me, the look said, go on- tell me. I dare you.

"Because," said James coolly, "Your entire family is nothing but a bunch of conniving, evil, pureblood _freaks_. And that includes you."

Then the wands came out. Severus pressed himself against the wall of the compartment, as far away as possible from the yelled curses and multicoloured jets of light. But there was a part of him that was fascinated by how much these two, who by rights should know no magic whatsoever, could pull off.

Suddenly, a jet of red light from James' wand hit Sirius, who keeled over where he stood. James turned to Severus.

"So, Snape," he said, spitting out Severus' surname. "I guess you and Black will be good Slytherin pals, right?"

Ha, thought Severus, I somehow doubt that. But he said, "Excuse me, Potter, but what _exactly_ makes you think I'll be a Slytherin?"

James curled his lip. "The way you look, for one. There's no way someone from any other house would be as ugly as you. And," here, he paused and glanced at Sirius' immobile form. "you two were sitting in the same compartment, so I take it you at least know one another by now. But you didn't stand up for him in our little fight. Typical Slytherin, always looking out for themselves.

Something of his father came out in Severus in that instant, never to leave again. "Regular little Gryffindor king, aren't you, potter?" he spat.

James stared at him levelly for a moment. "Yeah. Yeah, I intend to be." And with that, he turned and strode out of the compartment, sliding the door shut hard behind him.

Severus stared after him for a moment, loathing boiling in his chest. Then, he knelt beside Sirius and drew his wand, muttering the counter-curse over his immobilised body. Sirius sat up with a jolt, glaring at the compartment door.

"Of all the…He's enough to put ANYONE of Gryffindor! The arrogant, self-important little…Did you _see_ the way he looked at you? I mean, for God's sake…" Sirius continued to rant, long after the two had returned to their seats, but Severus tuned out, merely nodding and agreeing with everything Sirius said. He knew that he and Sirius would never be friends, but he knew that, due to their mutual dislike of James Potter, he could never hate him, either.

But Severus couldn't help but hear James' words replayed in his head over and over - _"Typical Slytherin, always looking out for themselves." _

Well, he thought glumly, as Sirius continued to list reasons why James should have a sensitive part of his body removed, At least now I know which house I belong in.

**A/N Again, sorry if my grammar is off. Anyone wanna volunteer to be a beta reader? Please? Oh, and again, any OOCness don't worry, it will be fixed soon. Something you will have to bear in mind with me: in most of my fanfics, try as I may to avoid it, James Potter often turns out evil, as you may have noticed here. But don't worry, James-fans! In a few chapters he gets nicer, and the characters develop more into how they SHOULD be. I hope. In other news, this chapter seems a little longer, but still -not long enough! I shall endeavour for more! MUAHAHA. Please review, and check out any of my other fics that you are familiar with the material they are based on.**


End file.
